Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-06-03
CHlNA'S ROYAL HAREM

description OF The Barbaric Custom Which
crowns Shame With Distinction and Makes
Vice Road to Honor
The New York Sun contains the follow
ing:
The pretty daughters of all Mauchu
families in high rank have been in n
Hurried state of mind for MANY months
past. In the fret place none of the
daughters of these families are permitted
to marry for at least year before a
wife Is chosen for the emperor of China.
During the spring months of last wear
Manchd papas OF Importance having
daughters between the ages of II and Is
were required 10 take them to Pekin
where they passed under the ewes of the
dlgnltarles whose duty it was to select an
empress for the young sovereign. 1t is
necessary that the candidates for this
distinguished place in the great palace
be Manchus, in order to preserve the
racial purity of the imperial line. Ghina's
ruling family for more than two centuries.
have not been Chinese but Manchurians
Ihey are lnterlopers at Pekin but thew
are we'll settled thare and have moved
into the imperial palace to stay. Manv
of these interesting damsels had to make
long and arduous journey in order to
pass under the critical gaze of the Off.
Gals. They speut many hot davs on
dusty roads and stretched their weary
limbs at night on the Couches of the dis
mai wayside inns, and after all thew had
only one chance in hundreds of becoming
au empress. There was this consolation
however, that if they missed the capital
prize they might be chosen to fill some
less dazzling place at court, and at anv
rate they could go home perhaps
wiser girls and get married as soon
as the necessary arrangements could be
made.
NO reporters were present to describe
the happy event last summer that fol
lowed the choosing of a bride. 1t is
very solemn thing to gaze upon the en-
peror even months before he assumes
the relns of government, and so nobody
outside limited official circle saw the
ceremony that made a very beautiful
girl, named Tao-Tai, the empress of
China.
Less than three months ago this IL
year old emperor formally assumed the
reins OF government. Before and since
that event, eccor ling to all reports, all
the eligible Mauchu maidens have been
III hutter over the choosing of the fe-
male members of the court. The en-
peror Is, by law, entitled to seven CON
cubines, and he may fill his harem with
any number of illegal" concubines,
No degradation attaches to this relation
IN the imperial palace. Indeed. it is
place to which any Manchu lady of the
requisite rank is proud to aspire. If an
inmate of the harem she may become
the mother of an emperor, as the throne
doesn't descend to any particular son of
the. ruler, but it is his custom 10 name
as his successor any male member of his
family of younger generation than
himself whom he wishes to have as his
heir There are other possible results of
life IN the imperial harem that induca
ambitious young women to regard ad-
mlttance to its exclusive circles as hioh
ly desirable. When any of the ILLEGAL
concublnes give birth to A son her statue
is legitimizec and she becomes "prin.
cess of the blood" and a sharer thereafter
IN the fortunes of her boy, who, if ne
discs not become an emf mperor. has excep-
tlonai opportunities for a brilliant ca
reer.
All the young ladies who do not present
the emperor with son or daughter be-
fore they are 25 years old are returned to
the homes or their parents. No stain at
taches to their characters. In fact they
a-e regarded a. persons of distinction
and are eagerly sought in marriage by
gentlemen of their own rank Of course
they are all beautiful women, for no 9th.
ers are admitted to the emperor's serag-
no. Every three years the harem is in
this sense weedes out, and then oppor-
tunlty Is afforded for other tender maid
ems IN their teens TO undergo the ordeal
of the competitive examination which
appears to be as prominent feature of
the love affairs of his majesty as of the
Chinese civil service Indeed, the man
ner OF hliIng and managing the imperial
harem has changed very little since the
time, over 600 years ago, when Marco
Polo wrote bis graphic description of the
domestic life of Kublai Khan, the great
mogul emperor, who magnifcently sdorn-
ed the very grounds in Pekin where the
present emperor resides. PoIo's figures
were rather tall, but the number of court
attaches probably exceeded that of to-
day, though Kwanh So has an army of
5000 eunuchs now within his palace walls.
Marco Polo wrote that KubIai K han had
.our legitimate consorts and each en-
press had not less than 10000 persons
attached to her court. Every year 100 of
the most beautiful Tartar maidens who
could be found were brought from far
and near to the palace and a committee
Of elderly ladies passed judgment upon
them Those who were of approved
beauty, good and sound in all respects,
were appointed to wait upon the emperor
by SKIES, each squad of beauties serving
three days, when it was relieved by an
other detachment
Colonel &c. Ref, a veiI-kuown Wall
street operator, Eko has been fighting
thsvsstern Union Telegraph com pany in
the courts for long time without success,